Interview: EU's Moscovici hails Macron win

13 May 2017 | 03:38 | Euronews

Picture: AFP

Efi koutsokosta, euronews : On Sunday (May 14), President Hollande is officially handing power to Emmanuel Macron, so what Brussels does expect from this new President, as we have seen that his victory has been described here in Brussels as an European victory?”

Pierre Moscovici, EU Commissioner for economic and financial affairs:
“It’s a good news, it’s good news for France, which escaped populism, xenophonia, violence from the extreme right and it’s good news for Europe because we don’t have a President who threatens to get out of Europe or the eurozone, and we have a very young, dedicated pro-European President with strong proposals for strengthening the eurozone.”

euronews : He (Mr Macron) has some ideas about the strengthening of the euro, including some proposals about an EU Budget ministry or even issuing eurobonds. Are these ideas realistic for the EU to go on?”

Pierre Moscovici : “Mr Macron shares ideas that are on the table here and there, that I myself presented a few years ago. Having a fiscal capacity, a budget for Europe in order to invest more to protect from unemployment, having a Finance minister of eurozone which at the same time could preside the Eurogroup but also be the commissioner for economy and finance responsible in front of the EU Parliament and also a treasury and these proposals are made in order to strengthen the Eurozone, to reduce divergences and to have a stronger capacity to create jobs and growth. With Mr Macron advocating for that, of course, perspective of these proposals to become true is stronger, but I know that there will be a strong fight, that there are a lot of stakeholders that need to be persuaded.”

euronews : That’s the point and Germany has already said that it doesn’t agree with some proposals especially concerning the debt and eurobonds, So don’t you think that German perspective over Europe is under pressure for the first time?

Pierre Moscovici : Lets’ not talk about pressure: you have in Paris a President who is pro-European, who thinks that France needs to work hand in hand with Germany, that Paris needs to work with Berlin, and the first encounter between the French President and the German Chancellor has not even taken place, so let’s see how it works and I expect that Germany sees it is time for Germany to invest more for its own sake but also for the general interest of Europe.”